


Extraordinary Life

by Forlorn Kumquat (sara_wolfe)



Category: Charmed
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, five times fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-23
Updated: 2013-03-26
Packaged: 2017-12-06 04:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/731681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_wolfe/pseuds/Forlorn%20Kumquat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four normal lives that Piper never lived (and one she did).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, the challenge was for a five-things fic, and I picked Piper's obsession with her so-called "normal life", and the consequences that came with it. These are just peeks into various alternate lives, but if one (or more) of the universes proves to be popular, I could be persuaded to write a full-length fic expanding on them.

**1\. (Phoebe never comes back from New York)**

Piper loved her baby sister, really she did. But, Phoebe had always been flighty and unreliable, and when she called from New York, Piper had honestly been expecting to hear that she was in trouble. That she needed her big sisters to swoop in and save her, just like when they were younger. 

What she hadn't expected was to hear that Phoebe was flourishing in her new life. Her baby sister had gotten a scholarship to Columbia to study journalism, she was newly-engaged to a young man named Caleb who was studying nursing, and from what she'd told Piper, she was even starting to develop a decent relationship with their father. The confused, angry delinquent who'd left San Francisco had become a strong, independent young woman, and she clearly no longer needed to lean on her sisters. 

When Prue heard the news, her only response was that it was about time for Phoebe to start growing up. Piper had been hoping for more pride from her older sister, but she suspected that was the best she was going to get, especially given the way that Prue and Phoebe had parted before Phoebe had left for New York. 

But then, Prue's life was going so well, she probably didn't have time to think about Phoebe. She'd left her job at the museum only to land a lucrative position at Buckland's Auction House. She started dating her high school flame, Andy, and they were married within a year. She had two amazing kids, Patrick and Penny. Like everything else that happened to Prue, her life was coming up roses. Piper couldn't help but feel a little envious.

As for her own life, things weren't quite so rosy. It was fine, she guessed, it just wasn't what she'd imagined her life would turn out like. Her interview with Chef Moore was a bust; she'd been flustered and anxious, and he'd called her recipe forgettable. She hadn't gotten the job. 

Two more interviews had gone the same way, and she'd wound up getting a job as a line cook at the same diner her mother had worked at as a waitress. It was long, impossible hours, and it barely paid the bills, but it was a job. At least it wasn't standing behind a counter at a bank, she reasoned. 

Her romantic life seemed to be going just as well. She'd thought Jeremy was supposed to be The One, only for him to dump her days after her failed interview at Quake. She dated a couple more guys, but nothing really went anywhere. And then she met Dan. Dan was nice, and he was dependable, and, okay, there weren't exactly fireworks going off when they kissed. It wasn't the grand romance she'd always dreamed of as a kid, finding someone to sweep her off her feet, but fairy tale princes were for little girls, and she had to be practical about these things. 

She and Dan married, and they had a son, and she had her job. And they went to dinner with Prue and her family once a week, and flew out to see Phoebe and her husband every other Christmas, and she did bake sales, and carnivals, and the PTA thing, even when it embarrassed her son. And everything was nice, and ordinary, and a little boring, if she was going to be honest. But it was her life. 

And this was the normal life she'd always wanted. Wasn't it?


	2. Chapter 2

**2\. (Piper gives her powers up after the fight with Cryto)**

"Just help us get our powers back," Phoebe pleaded, quietly. "Please? We can't do it without you."

"We won't do it without you," Prue added. 

"Fine," Piper said, shortly. "But once we're done, that's it. I'm out."

"Piper," Phoebe protested, but Piper shook her head, cutting her sister off. 

"I'm done," she repeated, firmly. "No more powers, no more demons, no more magic screwing up my life. Done."

* * *

Two hours later, they were back at the house, safe and sound, their powers intact. But to her sisters' frustration, Piper was still adamant about giving up her powers. 

"Phoebe, I'm not changing my mind," she insisted. "I have had it with being a witch. I'm tired of the fighting, I'm tired of being in danger all the time, I'm tired of not having a life, anymore. I'm _done_. Leo!"

Her sudden yell startled Phoebe into jumping away from her, and the Whitelighter orbed into the space she'd just vacated. 

"Piper," Leo started, but she cut him off, quickly. 

"I'm giving up my powers," she said, flatly. Leo gaped at her in shock. 

"You what?" he demanded. "Piper, you can't – do you even know what you're doing?"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Piper told him. "I'm taking my old life back."

Leo shook his head, stunned speechless. "I – I have to talk to the Elders about this."

"Do whatever you want," Piper replied. "There's a recipe for a power stripping potion in the Book that I'm going to work on, as soon as I get the ingredients."

"Piper," Leo started, "I know you've been upset for a while-"

"This has been going on for more than a while, Leo," Piper interrupted him. "I never wanted these powers. I never asked for this grand destiny that the Elders seem to have planned for us." 

She ignored the shocked looks on her sisters' faces, too caught up in her ranting to stop, now. Not when she'd been keeping her feelings bottled up for so long. 

"I never asked to have my life completely uprooted," she continued, angrily. "I never asked for the demon fights, the danger-"

"Me?" Leo interrupted her, softly. When she fell silent, he went on, "Piper, you and I never would have met without magic being involved."

"The entire time we were together, you were lying to me," Piper reminded him. "And now we don't even have that, thanks to the Elders and their damn, stupid rules!" The last she yelled at the ceiling, ignoring the way Leo flinched, like he was expecting to be summoned before his bosses any second. 

Leo was quiet for a long moment. "Give me twenty-four hours," he finally said. "Please. Just one day to find another answer. Please."

"Fine," Piper agreed, stonily. "One day, and then I drink the power stripping potion."

Leo's shoulders slumped with relief. "Thank you," he said, and then he orbed out without another word, leaving Piper alone with her incredulous sisters. 

Over the next several hours, Phoebe tried everything she could to get Piper to change her mind. Piper calmly but firmly rebuffed every argument Phoebe made, working steadily on her potion. If she was lucky, the last magic that would ever touch her life. 

Prue, on the other hand, gave her the silent treatment. She was angry, like she thought Piper was betraying them in some way by giving up magic. Piper couldn't bring herself to care. Prue would get over her anger, she always did. And in time, she would see that Piper was making the right choice, the only choice.

True to his word, Leo orbed back in twenty-four hours later. He had his arm around a young woman who staggered away from him to sink down onto the couch, her head hanging between her knees. She groaned, piteously, lifting her head long enough to give Leo a dirty look when he hastily shoved a small garbage can between her knees.

"I should have warned you that orbing for the first time can be a little rough," Leo said, apologetically. 

"You think?" the woman muttered, sounding peeved. She took a slow, shaky breath, clearly trying not to get sick.

"Leo, who is this?" Prue had walked into the living room, looking between the new arrivals with a confused look on her face. Phoebe, beside her, looked curious. 

"Paige is a witch," Leo explained, looking carefully over at Piper. "The Elders think that she can solve the problem of Piper wanting to give up her powers."

"How?" Piper asked, curiously. What did the Elders think, that some stranger was going to be able to convince her to keep her powers, when her own family couldn't even manage it?

"By taking them, myself," Paige answered, and Piper had to admit, that wasn't the answer she'd been expecting. 

"That's not possible," Phoebe interrupted, shaking her head. "No offense, but it's never going to work. The Power of Three needs all of us. Sisters. You can't just drag some stranger into this."

"Unless she's not a stranger," Prue interjected, quietly. When all eyes turned to her, she continued, "Leo, what's going on?"

Leo and Paige exchanged a long look, and then Leo sighed. "You're right, Phoebe. The Power of Three does need to be sisters. And that's why the Elders think this is going to work."

"You're our sister," Prue said, flatly, and Paige gave them a tiny smile. 

"That's not possible," Phoebe repeated, stunned. 

"I was born on August second, nineteen seventy-seven," Paige told them. "My birth parents left me at a church, where I was adopted. I, um, I didn't know anything about you guys until yesterday, when Leo tracked me down. I didn't really believe him, at first, but he can be very persuasive."

Prue shook her head, stubbornly. "Mom and Dad got divorced a year before that," she argued. "And why would Mom give you up when she already had the three of us? It doesn't make sense."

"Because Paige's birth father is Sam," Leo answered, shocking them into silence. "And, it's forbidden for witches and Whitelighters to be together, so he and Patty felt that they had no choice. They gave Paige up to protect her from the Elders."

"And they're just okay with it, now?" Phoebe asked, dubiously. 

"Piper kind of forced them into a corner with her ultimatum," Leo said, sneaking an awkward look over at her. "They didn't really have a choice. No offense," he added, to Paige. 

Paige just shrugged, casually. "Hey," she replied, "these Elders of yours need me, and they're willing to pay for it. I'm good."

"Pay for it?" Prue echoed. "Pay for what? You're getting paid for this?"

"In a manner of speaking," Paige told her. "Look, do you want to do this, or not? I mean, I'm thrilled to meet you guys, and I can't wait to get to know you, but Leo didn't exactly bring me here for a big family reunion."

"We're going to do this," Piper said, speaking up for the first time since Paige had arrived. "What do I have to do to give Paige my powers?"

"Did you finish that power stripping potion?" Leo asked. When Piper nodded, he continued, "Drink it. The Elders will do the rest."

Piper went into the kitchen and retrieved the potion that had been cooling in the fridge overnight. Emerging back into the living room, she found Phoebe sitting across from Paige, with Prue perched on the arm of her chair. The three of them were staring at each other like they were in some kind of showdown. Piper broke the tension by dropping down onto the couch beside Paige. 

"I just drink it?" she confirmed, brandishing the potion. 

Leo nodded. "This is permanent," he warned, as she lifted the vial to her lips. "Once you do this, there's no going back."

In answer, Piper tipped the vial back and downed the contents. She watched, silently, as bright orbs of light lifted away from her body to float in midair. The orbs floated over to Paige, sinking into her skin, and the younger woman shuddered for a moment at the contact. 

"It's done," Leo said, a note of finality in his voice. "That's it. Paige, you're a Charmed One, now."

"Cool," Paige opined, looking bemusedly at her hands, which were still faintly glowing. "Um, this is gonna go away, right? I look like a Lite Brite."

"It'll go away," Leo reassured her. 

"Great," Paige said, briskly. Standing, she added, "Okay, well, I'll be in touch, tomorrow, so you can get up to speed on this whole magic thing. Right now, I'm late for dinner with my parents. Leo, can I get a lift?" 

Leo held out a hand, orbing them away when Paige grabbed onto him. Piper stared at the spot they'd vacated, and then looked over at her still-stunned sisters. 

"Well, that's that," she declared, feeling like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. "No more magic."

"Maybe for you," Prue said, her voice tight, angry. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go figure out how to keep the Underworld from seeing the giant target you've painted on your back by giving up your powers." She stalked off, practically radiating fury, and Piper stared after her in shock. 

"She's not really that mad," Phoebe spoke up, weakly. "She'll get over it. You know how Prue holds a grudge."

"What about you?" Piper asked. "Are you mad at me?"

Phoebe sighed, looking down at her hands. "You're doing what's best for you," she finally said. 

"That's not an answer to my question," Piper prompted, and a guilty look flashed across Phoebe's face. 

"What do you want me to say?" she asked. "That I feel like you're giving up on the Charmed Ones, on me and Prue? That you're turning your back on our family's heritage, on everything that makes us who we are?"

"Who I am is a chef and a nightclub owner," Piper told her, tersely. "I'm not a witch; I never wanted to be. As for our family's heritage, Melinda Warren started the ball rolling by getting burned at the stake, and it continued through Mom dying when we were kids. Andy's dead, Prue was almost killed by a Darklighter, you were evil in a past life, and Prue and I had to kill you… Need I go on?" Shaking her head in frustration, she added, "Name one good thing that magic has done."

"It brought us back together as sisters," Phoebe said, quietly. "Without magic, Prue and I would probably still be at each other's throats, if I hadn't just given up and moved back to New York. You never would have met Leo, and you can't tell me that there's not good there. Hell, Paige wouldn't even exist if we didn't have magic in our family!"

"Good argument," Piper snarked, "bringing up the illegitimate half-sister."

"Piper," Phoebe huffed in exasperation. 

"What do you want me to say?" Piper parroted Phoebe's own words back at her, exasperatedly. "There's just not enough good in magic to balance out the bad."

"What about Melinda?" Phoebe asked. When Piper gave her a questioning look, she went on, "You told me about that beautiful little girl you saw in the future. Yours and Leo's daughter, remember?"

"I know who Melinda is," Piper groused. "What's your point?"

"What if giving up magic means giving up on her, too?" Phoebe asked. "You're not a witch, anymore; Melinda was half witch-half Whitelighter-"

"No," Piper said, abruptly, cutting Phoebe off. "No, I know Melinda is meant to be. Leo and I, we're meant to be. Magic, or my lack thereof, isn't going to change that."

She had to believe that. She'd dreamt about being married to Leo, about their daughter, every night since they'd come back from the future. As much as she'd tried to convince herself that she could have a future with Dan, her subconscious clearly thought otherwise. And her angry words to Leo earlier, aside, she wasn't ready to give up on those dreams, just yet. 

As if her thoughts had summoned him, Leo orbed into the room. Piper was about to greet him when she noticed the unusually somber look on his face. 

"Leo, what's wrong?" she asked, and his shoulders slumped at her question. 

"I'm being reassigned," he said, heavily. "Your new Whitelighter will be here in the morning to meet you."

"What?" Phoebe demanded, incredulously, while Piper just sat there, stunned. "What are you talking about, reassigned? How could they reassign you?"

"Breaking the rules was bad enough," Leo explained, with a guilty look in Piper's direction. "But, allowing one of my charges, one of the Charmed Ones, no less, to give up on her destiny-"

"Wait a minute," Piper exploded, furiously, bolting up from her seat on the couch, "they're mad at you because I'm not playing by their rules? That is the stupidest, most selfish-"

"It's their rules," Leo explained, a regretful tone in his voice. "They're angry about Patty and Sam's relationship, about being lied to about Paige, about everything that happened with us – they set the rules for a reason, and there are repercussions when they're broken."

"And they're taking it out on you?" Phoebe pressed. When Leo nodded, she punched a pillow in anger. "That is so stupid. Well, what if Prue and I don't want to be witches, either? What if we don't want to play by their dumb rules?"

"Don't," Leo said. "Don't do that just because of me. You love being a witch, Phoebe, and Innocents depend on you. Don't give up on them."

Phoebe nodded, shortly, tears shining in her eyes as she stood up. She hugged Leo, a brief but hard embrace.

"Thank you for everything you've done," she said, smiling at him. "And, I know the circumstances suck, but thank you for bringing Paige home to us." Looking between him and Piper, she added, "I'm gonna go tell Prue what's going on. Don't leave without saying goodbye," she scolded Leo, and then she disappeared up the stairs. 

That left Piper and Leo alone in the room, and Piper couldn't think of a thing to say. She just stared at Leo in muted shock, unable to believe what he'd told her. 

"You're leaving again," she finally managed, and a broken look flashed across Leo's face. 

"Not by choice," he told her. "Piper, if it were up to me, I'd spend eternity by your side. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

"Then why won't you?" Piper asked, her voice breaking as a wave of hopelessness washed over her. 

"I don't have a choice," Leo said, helplessly. "Piper, I'm sorry it came to this." 

He brushed his fingers over her cheek, but Piper looked away, staring at the carpet as she held back the tears that threatened to fall. After a moment, Leo leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, and then he was gone. Piper stared at the empty space where he'd stood, and then she sank down onto the couch. 

This was all her fault. She'd wanted so badly to give up her magic that she'd given up everything else without even thinking about it. Her bond with her sisters, changed forever. Her life with Leo, gone in a heartbeat. Her future daughter, that beautiful little girl that she'd met, was never going to exist. All for her normal life. 

And this was the normal life she'd always wanted. Wasn't it?


	3. Chapter 3

**3\. (They take the Angel of Destiny up on his offer)**

"Just so we're clear," Piper said, suspiciously, "this wipes the entire slate clean? No read-the-fine-print technicalities, no demons-"

"None," the Angel of Destiny promised, solemnly. "Just your normal, magic-free lives."

Piper exchanged a look with Phoebe, seeing her own determined longing in her younger sister's eyes. For the last four years, magic had been their entire lives. Demons, and fighting, and they'd lost so much…

"Do it," Piper said, her voice ringing with finality. She didn't look over at Paige, still curled up on the window seat with a forlorn look on her face. "No more magic. We're done."

The Angel nodded, raising his hands, and then the world exploded in white…

* * *

Days passed, even weeks, and life was wonderful. She was happily married, with a loving family and a baby on the way. As promised, demons and magic were completely out of their lives. Everything was utterly, perfectly normal. 

Until Paige started getting sick. 

Small things at first, a series of colds, a persistent cough, constant bouts of exhaustion. Then it got bigger, a broken wrist falling off the stairs, pneumonia that landed her in bed for over a week. And Leo couldn't heal any of it. Paige tried to insist that she was fine, but Piper could see the truth. Could see her youngest sister getting worse every day. 

Things came to a head the day Paige collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital. She was in a coma, and hooked up to half a dozen machines, as doctors ran test after test to try and figure out what was wrong. But every test came up with nothing, and Piper was getting desperate. She finally broke her own vow to stay away from magic and begged the Elders to find a solution.

They discovered that when the Angel had stripped away their magic, he'd stripped away Paige's Whitelighter half. And it was killing her.

* * *

Piper stared at Leo in disbelief. "What do you mean it's killing her?" she repeated. 

"Paige isn't like you or Phoebe," Leo explained, with a heavy sigh. "Witches are mortals that can use magic. Whitelighters are magic."

Piper shook her head. "No," she said, stubbornly. "You've been mortal, before, and you've been fine. When the Elders clipped your wings, when Sam gave up his powers-"

"That's different," Leo told her. "Whitelighters are created, our existence is controlled by the Elders. Paige was born a Whitelighter. She needs magic like you need blood."

"So, this is our fault," Piper said, flatly. "She didn't want to make the deal, but Phoebe and I did, anyway. We killed her."

"This isn't your fault," Leo insisted. "No one knew about this. Not the Angel, not even the Elders. There's never been another Whitelighter-witch before Paige. No one could have anticipated this."

Piper wrapped an arm protectively around her stomach. "What about our baby?" she asked, in a small voice. "She's part Whitelighter. Is she – did we hurt her?"

Leo placed a hand gently on her abdomen, a soft, golden glow emanating from his palm. "She's healthy," he finally said, and Piper felt tears pricking at her eyes, her shoulders slumping in relief. "I can't tell if she has magic, though," Leo warned. "It's too soon for that."

"So long as she's healthy," Piper replied. She turned her attention back to Paige at the sound of one of the machines beeping, a frown furrowing her forehead as she studied her sister's still visage.

"What do we do about Paige?" Piper asked. "The Angel said that the deal was a one-time thing. That we couldn't change our minds. Can the Elders just change that, give Paige back her magic?"

"Not the way she was before," Leo said, dashing her hopes. "But, they can get around it by making her a full Whitelighter."

"Paige would have to die," Piper pointed out.

"Temporarily," Leo stressed. "And, Piper, if we don't do anything, she's dead anyway."

Piper looked at Paige, watching her chest rise and fall with the rhythm of the ventilator. She'd been comatose for nearly a week, with no sign that she was going to improve. 

"Do it," Piper whispered, softly, praying that this time, her decision was the right one.

* * *

Turning Paige into a Whitelighter may have saved her life, but it ended her life with her sisters. 

Paige's recovery had been slow and measured, controlled by the Elders to keep anyone from becoming suspicious. And, within a month, the doctors said that she was ready to come home, and Piper was more than ready for life to get back to normal. But, of course, nothing could ever be that easy. 

Paige trained, and she learned how to be a Whitelighter, and she was assigned charges. And one of her charges had the power of premonition, and he foresaw something that scared Paige. But, she wouldn't say what it was, she just orbed out one morning after hugging her family goodbye. Piper didn't even remember telling Paige that she loved her. 

But then, she never thought that it would be the last time she ever saw her youngest sister alive. 

The first inkling that something was wrong was when the Elders put a ban on orbing. Second were the storms that popped up out of nowhere, lightning cracking across a perfectly clear sky, lasting for a day and a half. Then there was the earthquake that lasted almost five minutes, and then everything settled down. 

The Elders summoned Leo a few seconds later. He returned after nearly an hour, looking like he'd just had the weight of the world dropped onto his shoulders. Paige was dead, he told them, and Piper could feel her heart shatter. 

Paige and several of her charges had gone up against a trio of beings called Titans. They'd won, but the fight had cost Paige her life. She'd died to save her charges, to save the world, and Piper had never even gotten the chance to say goodbye. 

If they'd never given up their magic, they could have fought the Titans, together; the Charmed Ones, just like always. But Paige was alone, because Piper had been so insistent on having her normal life. 

And this was the normal life she'd always wanted. Wasn't it?


	4. Chapter 4

**4\. (Utopia)**

Utopia was perfect, just like the Avatars had promised. 

There was no pain, no fear, and most importantly no demons. Everything was bright and beautiful, and peaceful. There was no more darkness left in the world. 

She had two beautiful boys who grew more amazing by the day. She finally opened her dream restaurant to rave reviews. And her life was perfect. 

She missed Leo, of course. But, he'd given his life to save his family from the last demons to ever walk the earth, and he was in a far better place, now. And she was sure that he was looking down on them, wherever he was, and that he was just as happy as she was. 

And, okay, there'd been a couple of bumps over the years, a few blemishes in the wondrousness of Utopia. Like Phoebe, who'd gone onto a better place shortly after Leo. She'd come downstairs from the attic, stressed out about something. She'd been crying, Piper remembered, and she'd said something about Leo, and then she was gone. 

But it was okay, because she was in a better place. 

And Paige. Moving on from Kyle hadn't been easy for her younger sister, but Paige had done it. And then she'd met Henry, and they'd had two beautiful little girls, and their life had been perfect. 

Until that night, with the rain, and the dark, and the car that skidded across the wet road to slam into a telephone pole. When the scream of sirens filled the air, too late to do any good. When Paige wandered around her empty house, dying a little more inside each day as she tried to come to terms with losing her husband and children. When she started going to the Underworld to hunt down demons, just to feel something.

And then Piper had woken up one morning just knowing that Paige was gone. And her house was empty, like she'd never even lived there, and the only things Piper had left of her were pictures. 

But, she was in a better place. She had to be. 

In some small, hidden part of her mind, Piper wondered if things could have been different. If she and Phoebe had listened to Paige, if they hadn't pushed her toward accepting Utopia. Sure, she'd still have demons, but she'd have her sisters back, have her husband beside her again, and that was more than worth taking back the bad parts. 

But, those moments were few and far between, and she shook off the black thoughts as soon as they came. Leo and her sisters were in a better place. Chris and Wyatt were the best sons that anyone could have asked for. She had a wonderful job, amazing friends, and a loving family.

And this was the normal life that she'd always wanted. Wasn't it?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **SPOILERS FOR SEASON NINE COMICS!** (don't come complaining to me if you didn't read/ignored the note)

**(A peaceful day)**

**_May, 2013_ **

"I think we should go on a picnic."

Piper looked up from the bills spread out over the dining room table, staring in confusion as Paige dropped into a chair beside her. "What?"

"Picnic," Paige repeated, patiently. "We need to have a family day. My vote is for a picnic."

"I have bills," Piper protested, "and the house is a mess, and-"

"And the bills will wait, and the house will still be a mess, tomorrow," Paige countered. "But, it's a beautiful day out, and I've got three restless kids at home, and I'd imagine yours aren't doing much better."

As if in answer, there was the distant sound of something breaking, and the footsteps that had been running over her head all morning abruptly stopped. Piper waited, but when she didn't hear any crying, she figured that no one was hurt. She shot Paige a questioning look, but Paige already had her head cocked to the side, like she was listening to something.

"Just a vase," Paige told her, after a moment. "Chris is already using the Object of Objection spell to clean things up. He and Wyatt are really hoping that you didn't hear them, but Melinda knows better."

"Have I thanked you lately for using your sensing powers to help me spy on my kids?" Piper asked, dryly. "So, a picnic, huh?"

"Look at it this way," Paige reasoned. "If we're outside, the kids can't break anything but each other. And maybe they'll wear themselves out enough that they won't break anything more in the house."

She shot Piper a pleading look, and Piper could practically feel herself caving. "Why are you so insistent about this?" she wanted to know.

"Because Henry and Phoebe both have the day off, and neither Coop or I have been summoned by our charges," Paige told her. "And Leo can get one of his grad students to sub for him for the day, and you don't have to be at the restaurant until later tonight, which means that for the first time in months, we can actually get together as a family. And I think we need to take advantage of it."

"Have you talked to Phoebe and Coop about this?" Piper asked, but she could feel her resolve weakening. A picnic did sound nice. 

Paige's grin was the only answer she needed.

* * *

"Okay," Piper admitted, as she watched the kids playing soccer out in the distance, "a picnic was a good idea."

"Yeah," Phoebe agreed. Then, she grunted softly as her baby kicked, rubbing a hand over the sore area on her abdomen. "Sitting on the grass, maybe not so much."

"I told you to bring a chair," Paige said, teasingly. She stretched out on the blanket between her sisters, closing her eyes as she soaked up the bright sunlight. "This is perfect," she sighed. "A day without demons, without drama-"

"Mo-om!"

"Okay," Paige allowed, as Kat and Tamora's cries cut through the air in unison, "maybe a little bit of drama."

She climbed to her feet, jogging over to where her daughters were fighting with their younger brother. Piper watched her mediate between her children, and then turned to look at her own little angels. Wyatt and Chris were teaching Melinda how to dribble the ball between her feet, with PJ and Parker watching, avidly. 

"Any idea where our husbands went?" Phoebe asked, suddenly, and Piper shrugged as she looked over at her. 

"Leo mentioned something about a surprise," she remarked. "He didn't say what it was-"

"Because then it wouldn't be a surprise," Leo finished, from behind her, and Piper leaned back to see her husband standing over her, holding a bouquet of wildflowers. 

Henry and Coop were carrying similar bunches of flowers. Coop presented his to Phoebe with a flourish, as Henry snuck up behind Paige, tickling her on the back of the neck with a daisy. Paige shivered at the contact, whirling around to throw her arms around her husband. Piper chuckled, moving over to make room for Leo as he sat down beside her. She sighed in contentment, leaning into the arms that Leo wrapped around her, and she smiled at her husband as he pulled her close.

"You look happy," Leo murmured in her ear. 

"Why wouldn't I be?" Piper replied. "We haven't been attacked by a single demon in months, our kids are happy and healthy, we're a week away from celebrating the birth of the newest little Halliwell – everything is about as perfect as it's possible to get."

"Aunt Prue's here!"

The shriek from eight excited young voices filled the air, and Piper's smile got even wider. 

"Okay," she declared, watching as her older sister made her way through the throngs of nieces and nephews to sit on the edge of the picnic blanket, "now, everything's perfect."

As she looked at her family, Piper knew that she'd finally gotten everything she'd ever wished for. _This_ was the normal life she'd always wanted.


End file.
